1 moon later, the two weren't even close to finding the rogue's camp. On top of that, it was almost growth-bare. On top of that, Leafheart was half a moon pregnant. Needless to say, the two were getting tired.
"They traveled all this way just to kill some LightClan cats?" Leafheart often found that hard to believe. Redfur would just chuckle tiredly and they'd pad on in silence until they decided to hunt and settle down for the night. One night, as Redfur sighed, Leafheart padded over and rubbed her muzzle against his.
"I'm sorry."
The red tom looked up at his mate in confusion. "For what?"
"For bringing you into this mess. If it wasn't for me, you'd be safe at camp, watching kits grow up, and being well fed everyday. Now, because of me, you and I are stuck in the middle of nowhere, with a measly shrew to share."
Redfur laughed. "I told you I'm coming, but I didn't say, 'I'm coming, and this better be easy.' Of course it's going to be hard. Believe me, there's no one else I'd rather travel with for 1 month."
Leafheart smiled incredulously. "You mean it?" Redfur nodded firmly, and that was that. The two curled up for a restless night of sleep, and got up early to continue. That day, Leafheart had to stop several times from pains in her belly. Though she shrugged it off as nothing, Redfur was getting increasingly more worried, to the point where he sat down and refused to move unless Leafheart told him what was wrong.
With an exasperated sigh, the cream she-cat told him, "It's just minor pains! All queens have them, probably!" Redfur glared at her, his hunger getting on his nerves.
"When you yowl at me later at how much pain you're in, remember I wanted to help you, but you were an arrogant furball." Without another word, the red tom flicked his tail angrily and padded away, leaving his mate to stare at him with hurt in her eyes. Redfur started getting worried when Leafheart hadn't caught up to him yet.
She's fine. If I look back, she'll think I'm never serious. And I am! I wish she would understand that I just am concerned for her! His worry got the best of him, and he turned to see where she was. A stab of panic sliced into him like a knife when he didn't see her. He started running back towards where he came from.
"Leafheart? Leafheart! LEAFHEART!" No response. Getting panicked now, Redfur climbed one more hill… and there she was. She was crouched on the opposite hill. With a feeling of mounting fury that she wasn't even hurt, the red tom stormed up to his mate. "Where've you been-"
Leafheart slapped his mouth with her tail. "Shut up. I found the camp. Over this hill."
Redfur peeked over. And sure enough, the red tom saw a camp with a few milling cats. They were all darkly colored, and all looked darkly intimidating, even from a distance. Redfur looked at his mate.
"How did you know?"
Leafheart laughed. "I realized it was possible we were walking in big circles, since everything looks the same. And I noticed the scent was closest to the center of the hills. So I peeked over and I found them!"
Redfur sighed. "I'm sorry I said those things. You are far from an annoying furball."
Leafheart shrugged and sighed. "Unfortunately, I can't say the same for you."
As Redfur drew back, looking stung, Leafheart laughed. "I'm just joking. You're also far from an annoying furball."
Redfur smiled. "Thanks. So, how are we going to attack them? There are at least 10 of them. And two of us. Well, only one that can actually fight," he added when he saw Leafheart's rounded belly. Leafheart was silent.
"I could be bait," she offered at last.
Redfur bristled. "No way. You're staying out of the way where you're safe."
"If you say that, that must mean you never really loved Petalpelt the way you said you did. What's revenge without danger?"
Redfur shook his head. "How about we wait until you deliver, then we attack?"
Leafheart opened her mouth furiously, looking like she was going to yell, but then closed it. With obvious effort, she nodded. "That works."
Redfur padded closer. "You can't just think about yourself anymore. You have to think of them," he said, pointing to his unborn kits with his tail. Leafheart nodded. With a little sigh, she padded farther away from the rogue's camp. There she curled under a small bush. Redfur smiled and followed her.
Together, they fell asleep. That night, Redfur's dreams raged out of control. Dawnkit died… died… died… Icestar's dead, Petalpelt's dead, a body in a valley, who is that? Realization hit him with the force of a boulder. Leafheart.
Redfur shook his head. It's a dream! It's a dream, it's not real. But what about Icestar and Petalpelt?
Those were real, a little voice spoke. What if this dream is all true things? What if that's really Leafheart's future? Redfur forced himself to laugh. Leafheart, dead, ha. She's too strong.
But the vision came back, and his stomach dropped. He prayed in his dream. StarClan, keep her safe. Keep the kits safe. Keep me safe, so they're not fatherless. Please, StarClan.
A cat appeared. Misty, glowing, shining. Another appeared. Another. And another. One of them, a she-kit so small Redfur didn't notice her at first, padded over to him. Redfur looked down and sucked in a breath.
"Dawnkit." The tiny kit nodded. Realization hit Redfur. "You… died?" The kit nodded again.
She spoke in a voice so unlike her usual raspy squeak. "Your kits are precious. All kits are. But keep them safe. Fate will not be kind to them. If I am dead, they can die too. Keep. Them. Safe." The she-kit smiled at Redfur as if he had just told her a joke, and she padded to join the starry ranks of cats. Next came a ginger she-cat.
"Foxsong, Dawnwhisper came to visit. She wanted to see you." Blank shock showed in her pretty face, and Redfur couldn't help but think, 'Doesn't StarClan see everything?'
"Yes, Redfur, we do. I was not watching that day, though. She really came back?"
Redfur nodded. Foxsong smiled sadly. She slowly padded back to the other cats. Two cats came forward this time, and Redfur couldn't help but gasp. It was Icestar and Petalpelt, and they both looked so beautiful and well-fed and healthy. Icestar's gaze was intense. When she spoke, her words were urgent.
"Your loyalty to your mate is admirable. But you were right. There is no good way to beat the rogues. They are bloodthirsty cats. You and Leafheart will get severely hurt if you try. We're both honored that you traveled so far to help avenge us, but it's not worth it."
Petalpelt nodded. "She has kits now. You can't endanger yourself and them just for us. Redfur, nothing's bringing us back."
Redfur shook his head in confusion. "But Leafheart wants to -"
"Like I said, your loyalty to her is admirable. But there's always a time to see sense and make sure there are no unnecessary tragedies. Don't you think Darkshade has gone through enough? His mother is dead. His leader is dead. What if his sister dies? Isn't he your best friend? Isn't she your mate?"
Redfur backed up. "No, I believe this could work. Icestar, you're my leader. They killed you. Petalpelt, they killed you too! Leafheart told me that they said that was only the beginning, a warning. If killing two cats is a warning, what comes next? Will you really stand by and let your Clan get murdered?"
Icestar smiled sadly. "Nothing I say will convince you. Just take care of your mate and kits. Like Dawnkit said, fate will not go easy on them." She looked tense, like she wanted to say more, but she didn't. Petalpelt stretched her tail and placed it on the red tom's shoulder.
"Be kind to my kit. Be safe and careful. We must go now, but we're watching you." Redfur woke up, his paws twitching. Was that just a dream? A familiar voice sounded in his head.
'What do you think?'
Redfur got to his paws to wake Leafheart up. They had to plan. He smiled as he saw her beautiful cream pelt shining in the half-light.
With a reluctant sigh, he tapped her on the shoulder. Her eyes opened. She jumped up. Her blue eyes were terrified.
Concerned, Redfur asked, "Leafheart, what's the matter?"
She was shaking from limb to limb. "I had a dream. I was in the Dark Forest. All the horrible cats that legends talk about were there. They said if I wasn't careful, everyone I know and love will die."
Thank you Duskspiral for your feedback, I will definitely keep that in mind. The amount of readers jumped drastically today, that means a lot :) I have a really bad tendency to drop off one story and start another, so if that happens to this story, please be patient. I will definitely still update even if I start a new story, but maybe every other day rather than every day. Hope you understand. Please review and follow and favorite. Constructive criticism is really helpful, so if you think I can improve on anything, please, please, please tell me. Thank you so much.